The 2017 Mercedes-Benz C200 Coupé A Knight in Shining Armour

•Mark MusutuI am a witness that dreams come true and that hopes and desires are prayers in raw form.

I was there to test drive the 2017 Mercedes E Class when it was premiered in Windhoek at the end of last year. After that test drive, one car caught my eye in the Mercedes line-up, the C200 coupé.

I walked away from it mesmerized by its graceful beauty like one who meets their soulmate at a busy terminal and helplessly looks on while heading the opposite direction. Lo and behold I had it at my disposal last weekend – it was a dream come true. Like lovers reuniting.

If you look back in history at auto greats, you will see that it’s dotted with many two-door Mercedes’. Connecting the dots of seven generations of Mercedes coupé as far back as the 300SC of 1951 to 1958, it’s plain to see that they have been icons in each generation. If you have ever seen any old Mercedes coupé, you will agree that they are appealing and valuable, almost sacred.

The Mercedes coupé line-up includes: The CLA, the C Coupé, the E Coupé, the CLS and the CL. We can also include the new crop of Coupé/ SUV crossovers, the GLA, the GLC and the GLE. This collection is nothing short of amazing.

Mercedes have a very diverse product portfolio, I’ve been seeing a whole new breed of Mercs which I have only defined after spending time with Petrus, the product expert at M+Z Motors in Windhoek.

The C Coupé is a sleek stylish two-door with a diamond radiator grille carrying the legendary three pointed star emblem. The grill sits between its family LED lights which have a highlight of daytime running lights mimicking eyebrows. From the side, it’s nothing short of a wonder on four wheels, its thick C pillars curve well into the back window connected roof. The rear end of the cockpit curves inside while blending into pronounced hips. The result is a Porsche like tail but sitting much higher, almost creating a hatch/GT-like effect.

It has a bit of an X factor – like an arrow in flight or a knight in shining amour.

The C Coupé has an aura of the legendary Mercedes gull wings, like the Bugattis and Maybachs of yesteryear. The C Coupé is a design masterpiece, a sculpture that echoes the passion of the Mercedes design team. It’s simply perfection commercialised.

Opening the long door to enter, AMG participation is evident everywhere in the C Coupé. The interior is fitted with custom sport seats (AMG type) which are handcrafted and beautifully stitched with the familiar Mercedes seat vents. The dash of our test car was fitted with black ash open pore wood trim, echoing a contemporary furniture feel.

If you were blindfolded and taken into a modern Mercedes, you would hardly be able to them apart by the interior, especially C and E class ranges. The interior of our test car has this coherent design signature which is the industry trend.

Driving a Mercedes, you’ll notice that they take it further in terms of comfort, ride and handling – and lately, safety. Getting accustomed to its broad range of features, I toggled through the driver interface and got to experience comfort, sport and economy driving modes. Sport modes being more crude and responsive while the comfort is more refined and linear.

The C Coupé is a full house package. Infotainment features include: Burmester Sound system, Bluetooth, DAB digital radio, map pilot, Wi-Fi, USB and SD slot as well as head-up display, to name a few.

The C200 Coupé is powered by a 2,0 four cylinder turbo-charged petrol engine churning up to 135 kW translating to 300 Nm torque and distributed via a seven-speed auto gearbox. Peddle shifters are at your disposal to if you demand more from the auto selection.

Our test car does 0 to 100kmph in seven seconds. There’s more in this range if you require more output: The C300, C250d and AMG C63S coupés.

Of late, Mercedes has gone big on safety which is a strong selling point. You will have peace of mind to know it’s one of the few coupés with a five star safety rating and there’s the legendary Mercedes handling.

The C Coupé is loaded with a vast range of passive safety features that include: Intelligent headrests, pre safe autonomous braking, blind spot warning, nine airbags, attention assist, lane keeping assist, distronic plus, active parking assist, reverse camera, collision prevention assist, Mercedes Me Connect (remote online) as well as onboard use of the remote and location services, eg geographic vehicle monitoring, vehicle location, remote door locking and unlocking and remote interrogation of vehicle status.

I fell in love with the brake holding feature which holds the brake for you at a long standstill.

The C200 Coupé has an airmatic dynamic handling package. It enhances the ability to tailor the driving experience by combining suspension set-up with each of the driving mode selected. Its self-leveling suspension can be raised by 25mm to increase ground clearance and automatically lowers by up to 15mm at high speeds to help reduce aerodynamic drag and improve handling stability. Its variable damper control optimises damping at each wheel to suit the speed and road conditions.

Mercedes will fight till their last drop to see it that they have the best coupe on the market and quite frankly, there’s no coupé like a Mercedes coupe. Every Mercedes coupé is a future classic, a collector’s item and a part of auto history. Who can resist a knight in shining armour?

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